Poultry industry warns of chicken shortage amid rising taxes

LAHORE: The Poultry industry has warned that chicken could become scarce in markets within the next two months, blaming an unsustainable tax burden on producers.

The General Secretary of Broiler Farms, Asif Gondal, said the industry was facing a severe crisis due to additional taxes, which he claimed now total around 65 percent on chicken and related products.

He said that maintaining supply during periods of shortage is already a challenge, and he also warned that with rising taxes, chicken may become almost unavailable in the market within two months.

Asif Gondal has said that while the cost of a chick was even less than Rs.20, producers were paying about Rs.10 in tax per chick, adding that the additional taxes had pushed poultry industry to the brink.

Asif Gondal urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take notice of what he called an impending crisis, warning that it could be more serious than previous shortages.

He said that Pakistan had previously exported chicken, but was now facing growing domestic shortages. He added that before 2014 there was no sales tax on poultry products and production levels were higher.

The Broiler Farmers General Secretary has called on the government to form a committee to hold talks with farmers and withdraw what it describes as excessive taxes.

Asif Gondal warned that if their demands were not met, farmers would stage peaceful protests and could ultimately shut down poultry farms.

He said that globally, food is subsidised, but here it is being taxed. He also criticised fake official price lists, arguing that consumers were unable to buy chicken at government-set rates.